COCONUTS HOT SPOT — Your pizza cravings no longer have to be satisfied by fast food deliveries. The newest pizza kid on the block has just flung open its doors at Scotts Square, giving you a reason to actually step into the perennially empty mall, instead of walking past on your way from Ion Orchard to Far East Plaza. Tucked away in the basement of the building, PizzaExpress is spread across a sleek, 120-capacity space of marble counters and tables, with an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs kneading and flipping the pizza doughs for pre-meal entertainment.
The restaurant’s debut here marks its 576th opening, with numerous outlets scattered across the globe, and more in the pipeline for Singapore. Handmade thin crust pizzas are what it’s known for, as well as little nubs of dough balls that are basically spherical versions of its pizza base that you can dip into sauces like garlic butter, pesto siciliano or pesto genovese.
For starters, options include the gambaretti piccante of jumbo prawns, chilli flakes and flat bread, burrata cheese with roasted red peppers and portobello mushrooms stuffed with goat’s cheese, mozzarella and garlic bread. We’d recommend the famous dough balls, which are crispy on the outside and fluffy and slightly chewy on the inside, but if you’re gonna be gunning straight for pizzas and pastas, you’d be better off staying away from carb-filled appetisers.
Sharing antipasto plates are also available in classic Italian or vegetarian. The former consists of sausages, prosciutto, mozzarella, peppers, olives, tomatoes, rocket leaves and flat bread, while the latter replaces the meat with grilled peppers and aubergines.
If you need leafy greens to complete your meal, we suggest you order the leggera superfood of spinach, cucumber, avocado, lentils, mozzarella, butternut squash and beetroot with balsamic syrup. It comes in two portion sizes so you can even make it a main if you want something light. Other salads on the menu include chicken caesar, smoked salmon and apple, beetroot and goat’s cheese, and smoked chicken.
As for the pastas, they’ve got menu staples like beef bolognese lasagne, spaghetti bolognese and chicken penne, but it’s the farfalle di calabria that stands out. Think slices of spicy Italian sausage and salami with cherry tomatoes and bow-tie pasta pieces swimming in a creamy pomodoro sauce.
Now on to the moment you’ve been waiting for. The restaurant’s namesake dish. We’ll just go ahead and say it. You definitely have to order the signature Calabrese — it’s got Calabria-style sausage, spicy Italian sausage, mozzarella, jalapeño peppers, roasted peppers, rocket leaves and pesto lying on a crispy crust that’s so thin, you can almost eat the entire pizza all by yourself.
American Hottest is another favourite of ours — in case you can’t tell, we’re partial to spicy flavours. This one features pepperoni, hot green and roquito peppers, red chilli, spicy italian sausage, buffalo mozzarella and chilli oil. Meanwhile, seafood lovers can go for the Liguria of prawns, mussels, squid, clams, capers and olives on béchamel sauce, and vegetarians can try the Caprina Rossa with goat’s cheese, red onions, beetroot, rocket and pesto.
Oh, and in an effort to tailor to Singaporean taste buds, the restaurant will be introducing local flavours to its pizzas. Look out for the surprisingly delicious chilli crab pizza filled with juicy chunks of crab meat, chilli and cheese.
To continue with the spirit of indulgence, order up a bunch of desserts to share. Or head someplace else if you want something a little more unique. The offerings here are pretty standard — chocolate fudge cake, brownie chunks with vanilla gelato, cheesecake and tiramisu.
PizzaExpress is at #B1-08/09 Scotts Square, 6 Scotts Rd, 6538-0083. Daily 11.30am-10pm.
